Honey bee forage in Gorman, Texas

When is the honey flow in Gorman?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gorman, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Mar 11.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Cotton: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Mar – late Apr (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Gorman

Mostly: Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Western Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.38 mi NE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.5 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Gorman ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 55% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Carbon 10 mi · De Leon 11 mi · Eastland 16 mi · Lingleville 17 mi · Ranger 18 mi · Rising Star 19 mi

All towns in Texas · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Gorman (32.2135, -98.6721); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.